Microbiology club hosts guest speaker
![Hybrid students attend Dr. Eleanore Chuang’s presentation in Dr. Morrow’s room; she is the fifth guest speaker the MicroBiology club has hosted this year. “These speakers have had real experience in the field, they have done real research, they have also taught classes, and worked with the government. The officers of this club don't have the same experiences, so [speakers] are able to provide a special insight,” Neha Sripathi, the President of the Microbiology club, said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-12-at-12.55.01-PM.png)
Hybrid students attend Dr. Eleanore Chuang’s presentation in Dr. Morrow’s room; she is the fifth guest speaker the MicroBiology club has hosted this year. “These speakers have had real experience in the field, they have done real research, they have also taught classes, and worked with the government. The officers of this club don’t have the same experiences, so [speakers] are able to provide a special insight,” Neha Sripathi, the President of the Microbiology club, said.
April 12, 2021
The Microbiology Club hosted their fifth speaker of the year, Dr. Eleanore Chuang, who works for the National Institution of Health. A great number of members and non-members attended to listen, both virtually and in-person.
“It’s important that we understand how vaccines are created and distributed as they play a key role in fighting off deadly viruses [like COVID]. We really want to make sure people understand the importance of vaccines,” Chuang said.
Club members and officers valued her work and presentation. This meeting she gave insight on an emerging popular and important topic, vaccines.
“[Dr. Chuang] knew this realm of vaccine policy better than any of us could, because she’s worked in it. So she gave a really detailed explanation of the interactions between the private sector and the government and how that all plays in. That type of insider information is extremely valuable when it comes to forming opinions about different fields,” Sripathi said.
Club expansion is a contributing factor to the possibility of these events. Without it, there wouldn’t have been a great demand for more speakers.
“For almost all of last year before we ironically got shut down by a microbe, we had around only 12 – 15 regular members. This year we expanded so much more than I ever imagined possible, we have a regular membership of around 50-60 people. Especially at these guest events we get around 90-100 people attending. We are able to hold these events because of the large size our club has amassed to,” Sripathi said.
As students begin to return back into school, the Microbiology club is exploring more in person options to enhance club meetings for hybrid students.
“A lot more things are going to be possible when we go back in person, there are a lot of ideas being thrown around such as labs and outreach. Members have a lot of impact on our events through surveys, exciting things are bound to appear in the future!” Sripathi said.
![Hybrid students attend Dr. Eleanore Chuang’s presentation in Dr. Morrow’s room; she is the fifth guest speaker the MicroBiology club has hosted this year. “These speakers have had real experience in the field, they have done real research, they have also taught classes, and worked with the government. The officers of this club don't have the same experiences, so [speakers] are able to provide a special insight,” Neha Sripathi, the President of the Microbiology club, said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-12-at-12.55.01-PM-300x169.png)
![Juniors Gurleen Kaur and Neha Sripathi present about the gut microbiome at a club meeting. The gut microbiome is one of many specific aspects of microbiology that the officers hope to explore in depth. “The gut microbiome is something that's really interesting, [such as] how it impacts your physical and your mental health,” Kaur said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IMG_6662-300x179.jpg)
